Making the Case for Dry Cutting: New York City’s Spoke & Weal Salon Opens in SoHo

“Dry hair tells no lies,” says stylist Jon Reyman of his penchant for dry cutting, which involves wielding his shears on strands well before a drop of water enters the equation. The method, which reduces any guesswork, is not just for the stylist (“you can’t see shape, density, texture, damage, or color when hair is wet”), but also for the client (who can see the cut taking shape and gain emergency call time if that lob looks like it’s turning into a bob). “It allows you to tailor a haircut to fit the individual perfectly,” Reyman explains. “You can really see what you’re getting.”

The veteran editorial and runway pro, who works with designers ranging from Carolina Herrera to Charlotte Ronson when he’s not busy applying his trademark fifteen-minute dry-cut technique to the likes of Lana Del Rey and Sienna Miller, will open the third outpost of his Spoke & Weal salon with star colorist Christine Thompson in SoHo today (San Francisco’s Russian Hill location opened in 2013 and L.A.’s West Hollywood site opened last year). That’s not to say you’ll be out the door in a quarter of an hour flat: After the dry cut comes a shampoo, Aveda aromatherapy scalp massage, and blow-dry; then Reyman makes any final tweaks. The reason for his reverse method? “We don’t hide bad cuts with good styling.”